The Dove
by sugarwhirl
Summary: (OC)The chosen one's home is attacked by Deatheaters and her parents are killed. Saved by Dumbledore, she goes to Hogwarts and studies with the other seventh-years. Her intelligence is one that matches even Hermione Granger. What is she hiding? A tale of
1. Midnight Trouble

Valerie Ducoeur screamed and opened her eyes. She had had the same dream again. She sat up and got out of bed. "God! Why do I have the same bloody dream every night?" She walked into her bathroom and stared into the mirror. She looked at her face, which was smooth and glistened with sweat. She always heard people whispering around her: "elle est très belle cette fille" or when she was in England, strangers in the street would whistle and say: "you're lookin' good". She remembered always pretending that she had not heard or blushing frantically, trying to seem modest. She punched her fist into the mirror, which finally cracked, after the nightly beatings it had received.

"Why do you have to be so damned attractive?" She shouted into the mirror. "Others wanted to be like you and you loved the popularity! Look at you! You're-you're-" She did not finish. A huge crash had interrupted her.

She looked at her watch, which read 2 am. _Nobody should be awake. I know my family have heard my shouts in the middle of the night. But after the first few nights of coming in and trying to comfort me, they have tried their best to ignore me._ She smiled. She remembered the first night she had the dream. She had gone into the bathroom and was trying to cut her wrists, just to relieve a bit of the emotional pain she felt.

Her parents had made the mistake of trying to stop her by grabbing the knife, but Valerie had held on and snarled and bit them until they let go. She then began to wave the knife about telling them to never come into her room at that time of night ever again. _They tried coming in after that and found me standing at the door, eyes glinting 'evilly' as my sister Clarissa had described me the next day with a knife in my hand. I always denied that I knew of my night time existence in the morning, claiming that they were hallucinating, so they decided that I was suffering from trauma. _

Valerie took one last look at her long, straight brown hair in the mirror before grabbing her knife and standing by the door, waiting for her father's entrance. She stopped by the door and looked at the scars lining her arms and smiled. She was tempted to cut herself another time and did not hesitate to do so. As her knife sank into her skin, a piercing shriek made her jump causing her knife to go in a bit deeper than she wanted. Blood oozed down her arm and she hurriedly tried to stop it with her dressing gown's sleeve as she ran outside.

The door to her room was right at the top of the stairs and so she could see into her sitting room. She saw a ring of hooded people closing in on her parents. The lights were off, but their sticks seemed to glow in the darkness enabling her to see the petrified look on her parents' faces. She was frozen, not able to think anything other than; Where's Clarissa? Suddenly a snake like voice began to speak. At first Valerie thought that it came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, but shook her head. _That isn't possible, where there's a voice, there's a body and mouth controlling that voice. Stop acting like an idiot!_

"You tried to hide from me by escaping to France? Where is your loyalty Gwendolyn and Victor Hendrick?" The voice said.

Valerie frowned. Her parents' names were Abigail and Gaston Ducoeur. She must have heard wrong. She suddenly caught sight of a figure slowly gliding towards them. She shuddered as her arms developed goosebumps (A/N or chicken flesh if you want to call it that, but it's my story so you'll have to put up with the goosebumps.... mwahahahahahahahahahah). _It's as if I'm scared. I feel more scared than... Wait, he's got Clarissa!_ Valerie's eyes narrowed and an 'evil glint' appeared in her eyes as she watched the figure.

"You vowed to be loyal! You even took the marks as your parents instructed you to! Your parents were loyal and died in Azkaban for me, why have you not followed their example? Why did you fall under Dumbledore's," He spat these words out with venom. "influence?"

_Whoever this 'Dumbledore' is, I feel sorry for him_. Thought Valerie as she shivered yet again, despite the late summer heat. "You will pay for your unfaithful acts. Lucius!" A man with long shining blonde hair stepped forwards, bowed and then waved his stick. "Crucio!"

Suddenly both her parents rolled on the floor screaming. They held one another's hands, never letting go, but their screams never stopped. About an eternity later, the figure put up his hand and Lucius stopped. Valerie was shocked, she was always told that magic did not exist by her parents, and there they were on the floor being tortured by people using magic. Valerie began to wonder whether she was still dreaming or not. The figure knelt down by who he called Gwendolyn and lifted her arm.

"Your mark is still there, burning. Does it burn even more so now?" he asked as Valerie flinched from her mother's terrified screams. The mark had turned bright red. Valerie could have sworn that he was smiling. "Give me the other child and I may let you live."

Valerie was too absorbed in her own thoughts and so did not hear this._ I am going to call the police, that's all I can do for now._ As she inched towards the telephone she listened to what the snake-like voice said,

"Nobody defies Lord Voldemort. Crucio!" Valerie saw her father hold back his scream as he writhed in pain on the floor. Her mother was kneeling by the figure begging for him to stop. "Give me the child Gwendolyn or I will kill this one." Valerie stopped next to the phone and watched as Lucius brought forwards Clarissa who was unconcious at the time. She bent down to pick up the receiver. "You would kill us all once you've used us anyway!" Her mother said and spat at the figure just as Valerie lifted up the receiver.

Click.

The room went silent. Lucius looked up straight at where Valerie had been just a moment ago. When the figure or Voldemort continued speaking, she breathed a sigh of relief in her crouching position and listened as the phone on the other end of the line rang. As soon as she heard. "Comment puis-je vous aidez?", the line went dead. Valerie looked up and saw a tall man in a black cloak and shining blonde hair looming over her.


	2. Voldemort

Valerie backed away from Lucius but was against the wall. She was trapped.

Lucius smirked as the girl in front of him looked frantically for a way to escape from her corner. Valerie noticed his smirk and her anger flared. _I will not be taken advantage of! _She thought to herself, and then she smiled sweetly at Lucius. He was taken slightly aback, but it did not show for more than an instant on his face. Instead he sneered at her and said,

"What are you smiling at? I won't let you escape."

She just smiled. Suddenly her leg shot out and hit him behind the knees with a round-house kick. He fell over, and was surprised by her strength. He smirked as she tried to jump over him and run. He grabbed her ankle and she fell, landing on top of him. He laughed evilly as he took his wand out and pointed it at her.

"You should not have struggled. You are very brave. Cr-" He did not finish as she had stabbed her knife, which she had hidden in her pocket the whole time, into his arm.

He cried out and let go of her as blood began to trickle out of the wound, and then realised that she had taken her knife back along with his wand. He stood and smirked as fear flashed across her face and disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

"I see that you are very good at hiding your emotions, but you could do better."

He stepped backwards as she swiped the knife through the air, just where he had been a few moments ago. She snarled at him, furious. _He is so fast! I'm never going to be lucky like just now, but if I don't fight him, I won't get Clarissa back. How do you use this stick thing? Wait, did he say crucio before with my parents? I'll try that. How dare he attack my parents! _Lucius saw the anger flaming in her eyes again. Valerie smiled and said: "Crucio!" and jabbed him with the wand, but nothing happened.

Lucius began to laugh, which made Valerie even angrier. _I hate this man. Why won't this thing work? If this is a dream, then it should also work for me. _Valerie snarled with frustration.

"I did not realise that we had come to pick up a dog. Even if it is a very pretty one." Lucius said.

He used his index finger and thumb to grab her chin and turn her face to the side. Valerie tried not to show the pain that she felt, but tears began to appear at the edges of her eyes.

"Crying? I did not think that you were that weak." Lucius sneered.

At this Valerie's eyes narrowed and she tried to bite his hand, which he pulled away quickly, but with grace as well. He smirked yet again, and she tried to slap him, but she was at least two heads smaller than he was, so he was able to grab her wrist before her hand reached his face. He twisted it around making her eyes water from the pain. _I am strong, I will not cry. He is just a bully. I hate him, I hate him for- _

"For making you feel weak?" hissed the snake-like voice.

She jumped and turned around to see the figure approaching her and his ring of cloaked followers dragging her family behind them. _How did he know what I was thinking? It must have been a coincidence. People can't read minds, that's impossible! _

She yelped as Lucius twisted her hand even more, making her drop the wand. He then grabbed her other hand and held both of her hands behind her back while she struggled, trying to use her karate skills on him to escape. But he saw what was coming and dodged them easily.

After a while she slumped, her energy had been spent and she gave up. The figure, or Voldemort, came forwards, laughing. His cold and evil laugh made her shudder with fear and she tried to back away, but Lucius held onto her arms tightly. _Why is this happening? Dreams aren't meant to last for this long! This man radiates evil, whoever he is. I wish that I'd wake up. _

"This is not a dream Ms. Hendrick." The figure hissed.

_It's as if he can really read my mind. And my name is Valerie Ducoeur not Hen-Hen- whatever he just said_.

"Hendrick."

_Yes, that one...Wait a minute.. _Her eyes narrowed and the followers laughed.

"I have no minutes left to waste with this game you're playing, Ms. Hendrick. I am rather... pressed for time."

The figure nodded at Lucius who immediately let go of the furious and struggling girl and she landed on the floor surprised. She tried to push herself up into a sitting position, but found her hands and legs were bound tightly with rope. _When did he do that? I remember trying to kick him just now, so he couldn't have tied me up in a split second. _

"Oh yes he can, Ms. Hendrick. Tell me, have you ever heard of magic?" The figure hissed yet again.

"Magic doesn't exist! It is all a load of rubbish! This is only a dream! Give Clarissa back to me! Please?" She shouted.

Voldemort started laughing, and his followers joined in. She became furious and spat at Voldemort, not unlike how her mother spat at him a few moments before while Valerie was watching over the balcony. Voldemort continued cackling and moved closer to her as she wriggled further away.

"If magic does not exist, how come I can do this?" he hissed as he flicked his wand.

Valerie shrieked as pain surged through her body. She was blinded by the pain and could only see white. She twisted and rolled on the floor, wishing that the pain would stop. Suddenly, it did, but she continued writhing. When she stopped, she coughed and blood came out with it. She glared at the monster standing before her.

"This is all an illusion. You are all illusionists. This cannot be happening! Mum! Say something!"

She watched as her mother lifted her head, and looked into her eyes. Her mother's eyes were filled with sadness and regret, but were trying to convey a message to her. Valerie immediately realised that her parents had been lying to her. _No... It can't be...I can't believe it. Somebody wake me up! _

"Nobody can wake you up, Ms. Hendrick. If you think that this is a dream, why do you want your sister back? If this is a dream, you will see her as soon as," He paused and sneered at her. "you wake up, am I correct?"

Valerie stopped struggling against her bonds. _He's right. But if he's saying that this is not a dream then... _

"I will make you a deal Ms. Hendrick. You come with me and your family will be spared." Voldemort said.

Lucius smirked. 'If she falls for this then our task will be much easier to do.' He thought to himself.

"Bring my family to me." She said, trying to keep the resignation in her voice as unnoticeable as possible.

Voldemort motioned for her family to be brought forth and put beside her. Valerie immediately hugged Clarissa , who was still unconscious, tightly. Her half-conscious parents suddenly moved in front of their children just as a whisper of "Avada Kedavra" could be heard a green light flashed. Valerie saw her parents crumple onto the floor and cried out.

"You said that you'd spare them!"

"You never agreed to the deal. You just asked for them and I gave them to you, thinking that it would be sweet for the whole family to die together." Voldemort said 'sweet' with disgust, as if it were foul.

Voldemort lifted his wand and just as a flash of green appeared from it, a vase came flying through the air and deflected the curse. Voldemort's eyes could be seen in the shadow of the hood of his cloak. They had begun to glow bright red, fueled by the fury burning inside him. He turned and faced the direction that the vase came from.

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A/N I hope you do not mind zis mineur interruption mwahahahaha. Please Review or I vill not venture on. mwahahahahahahahahahaha! I own everysing! mwahahaha- sugarwhirl finally wakes up and whacks evil twin over the head and then says "no she owns the plot of this mad story and the Ducoeur family, JKRowling owns all of the Harry Potter characters (sniff! my feelings are hurt!) and everything else that has been written in the Harry Potter books." 


	3. Saved

Valerie watched as the broken vase crashed onto the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Voldemort's eyes blazed with anger and the followers shrank away from him in fear. A tall figure stepped in front of Valerie and began to speak.

"Tom." He said

"Dumbledore." Voldemort sneered. "So you have decided to honour," Lucius, who had put up his hood again, smirked at this. "us with your presence. How delightful."

Valerie tried to see the face of this Dumbledore who stood in front of her, but gave up very quickly. _He just saved our lives. He'll hopefully keep us safe. Now, how can we escape? _

"No time for playing now Tom. I am leaving, but not without the children."

"How touching. Of course, but what will you give to us in return for them?" Tom or Voldemort's eyes glowed red.

_I'm really confused now. Is he Tom, Voldemort or just a snake? Anyway, if I can just jump over the balcony and land downstairs without crushing Clarissa, we'll be able to escape all these mad magicians. I've jumped before, and I didn't even twist my ankle. But last time I didn't need to support Clarissa while I jumped.... Why did I jump last time? No time for that. _

"The reassurance that I still do not know where your base is." Voldemort laughed and it froze Valerie.

"Do you take me for a fool, Dumbledore? My, you must be getting old." Laughter rang out from all of his followers.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, I am getting old, but don't they always say 'the older the wiser'? Something like that anyway."

Valerie shook her head and crept towards one of the sofas._ Just a bit further..._ "And what do you think you're doing young lady?" She stopped and turned around. Everyone's eyes had turned and focused onto her. She felt her cheeks growing hot from all the attention, but kept her mouth shut. She could finally see the features of Dumbledore.

He had light blue eyes, a crooked nose on which sat his half-moon glasses. His long silver hair was about one foot off the floor and he also had an even longer silver beard. He was tall and thin and seemed very old. He wore a pointed hat and blue robes and shoes with shiny buckles on them. Valerie began to shake her head, thinking that she had gone mad. _I'm starting to believe all this magic stuff._

"You are perfectly sane, Ms. Hendrick." said Dumbledore smiling.

_I'm surrounded by people who can read my mind. Help! I am going mad for sure._ Dumbledore chuckled and walked over to Valerie. The ring of followers lifted their wands ready to attack. Voldemort moved as well. As soon as Dumbledore reached the children, he turned around. "Well, I have enjoyed our chat."

"I have not" Voldemort hissed his reply, lifting up his wand.

"How unfortunate. Well, time's ticking." With that Dumbledore disappeared, along with Valerie and Clarissa in her arms. Voldemort was angry yet again, causing all of his followers to shrink away. He looked at the lifeless bodies of Gwendolyn and Victor and smiled, but his smile vanished as he turned to face his followers.

"We leave! Next time, there will be no more mistakes like this. Anyone who feels as though they wish to be disloyal, already know the punishment. We will meet again at the Malfoy Manor in October." Having said this, Voldemort disappeared with a crack. They all apparated somewhere else, and one by one, they disappeared until only one cloaked figure was left. He looked at Gwendolyn and Victor, and he began to fear.

"Severus Snape, you must not be weak. It was your decision, and you chose to follow the light side." He muttered to himself before he too, apparated elsewhere with a large crack.

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Mwahahahahahaha!!! I have finished yet another chapter! sugarwhirl yawns and says "yes, we're all _extremely _proud of you." before falling asleep again. 

Please ignore my unenthusiastic (& very lazy) twin sugarwhirl, although I must thank her, for it is her account (mwahahahaha) anyway I vould like to say zank you to :

Miranda Goshawk - Thanks for the advice, I will remember it in future.

Spanky And Pie - Thank you for your review, it gave me a few laughs. I will continue as fast as possible. NEVER FEAR!!!

I will find time to read and review your fanfics as well.


	4. Dumbledore and the Eurostar

Valerie tried to sort out what had happened that night when she had finally seated herself on the Eurostar in the Gare Du Nord of Paris and suddenly realised she was only wearing a dressing gown. She looked up at Dumbledore, who was chuckling to himself. He was eating yellow sweets as they sat on the train, which would take them to London in about 2 hours and a half.

They had received a lot of weird glares from fellow passengers and the man at the ticket office _but what can you expect? _She thought to her self. _If I saw a girl appear in front of me wearing a dressing gown and standing next to a man who was a couple of feet taller than her with white hair and a long white beard, wearing a pointy hat and would not stop laughing to himself all the time_.

There were not many passengers on the train, so they had a section all to themselves. Valerie could hear people mumbling "It's not Halloween yet" and other more rude things in French.

Valerie finally decided to ask Dumbledore about what had happened.

"Mr. Dumbledore?"

She had been unsure of whether she should have called him just 'Dumbledore' or be more formal. She had decided on the latter since she did not know who this stranger was. Her mother's words came back to her "Never talk to strangers!" and she smiled before remembering that her mother was dead and would never come back.

Dumbledore laughed and a passenger sitting a few seats in front turned around and glared at them. Dumbledore nodded an apology as Valerie looked at her watch. It was almost 5am in the morning. _We've been in Paris for over an hour! _When she looked up, she discovered that Dumbledore was looking at her expectantly. She was about to speak when he said,

"My name is Albus Dumbledore, but you may call me Professor Dumbledore. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

_So that's what they are_. She thought to herself. _How can he be so calm?_ Professor Dumbledore looked slightly amused and his blue eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "

I was wondering if you could explain what happened to me-" Valerie glanced at Clarissa. "us, this evening." She paused "or morning rather."

Valerie noticed that he had looked away from her and wondered whether he really was trying to help her or whether this was all fake and she was going to find herself with Voldemort as soon as they arrived. This thought evaporated nearly as soon as it had popped into her head. _No, there must be a reasonable explanation and he has an air of... well, at least he seems trustworthy. I must keep my guard up though, I still don't know who he is! _

He bent over looked into her eyes. Valerie continued pondering whether she should trust him or not._ He seems sincere enough, and he did save our lives. But... _He interrupted her thoughts.

"You must decide whether you trust me or not."

"I do... trust you, I mean." Valerie blushed _He knew what I was thinking._

"Are you sure?" His blue eyes twinkled merrily like they were laughing.

Valerie hesitated for a second, and looked at Clarissa once more. Clarissa looked a lot like her. Although she had pale skin and blue eyes whereas Valerie had tanned skin and green eyes. Valerie was more developed and her features made her more beautiful, but it was clear that her sister would look like that when she reached Valerie's age. Valerie decided that in her heart, she trusted Professor Dumbledore, even though her brain was saying, "No, he can be dangerous!" etc.

"Yes, I am sure." She replied, finally.

"Ah! The train is moving! At last!"

Valerie, who was sitting next to the window, looked outside. It was fairly light, the sun had just peeked above the horizon, and she could see that things had begun to move. They sat in silence for a few minutes, admiring the view.

Valerie glanced expectantly at the Professor who was sitting across from her and then saw Clarissa's head hanging forwards. She put Clarissa sideways onto her lap so that she could lean her head on Valerie's shoulder. Clarissa was as light as a feather, so Valerie had no trouble lifting her. She placed her chin softly on Clarissa's head before the tears that had been hidden away began to run silently down her face. She closed her eyes, wishing for her tears to stop falling, but they never ceased.

She felt a handkerchief wiping the tears from her face and opened her eyes. Professor Dumbledore smiled and she smiled back, noticing that her tears were starting to stop. _I'll bet he thinks that I'm too tired or I'm not ready to understand yet. I'll agree with the tired bit, I am sleepy, but I want to know. I want to understand. _

"You have a lot to learn in one week, but I will make sure you learn." He sighed. "Tonight, Voldemort came to kill your parents who had turned their backs on him. They were what we call Deatheaters. I will tell you more another time."

Valerie tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice when she asked him why, but he just smiled and shook his head, before continuing.

"I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will be attending school there with Clarissa. Clarissa is at just the right age to be entering Hogwarts, but you will have to pretend to be a transfer student from Beauxbatons. I will be going with you down to Diagon Alley today to get your things with you. You must keep your old name of Ducoeur, never use or mention the name Hendrick." He paused and Valerie nodded. "And you must say that you had lost your memory over the holidays and so cannot remember any magic. You will take your O.W.L.'s at the end of this year and so you must have extra lessons after school. Nobody must know about this."

Valerie was struggling to keep her eyes open as they began to feel heavier and heavier, although the sky was getting brighter and brighter.

"You will be staying in the Leaky Cauldron for these two days and then a lovely woman called Mrs. Weasely will come by to pick you up. She has a son who is in your year, his name is Ron. She also has a daughter called Ginny in the year below you." Dumbledore stopped and smiled when he saw that Valerie had finally allowed herself to close her eyes and sleep. After watching them both for quite some time, he whispered,

"Poor child. I know what you've been through. And I wish I had found out earlier."

In her troubled dreams, Valerie heard this, but did not respond. She was running, running again, trying to run away from the shadows that pursued her, trying to escape her past.

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Ahhhhh! There we go another chapter up!

I am sorry for not updating for so long! I have been in boarding school (lucky me!) where this site has been banned. Anyway, I hope for more reviews! I have only had three so far and I am beginning to feel unwanted and unloved ("you are." smirks evil twin) Shut up! My apologies to you dear readers for the annoying little creature who keep **interrupting HINT**.

Please, Please Please review!! Even if it is to say that you absolutely hate it and that I am the worst writer in the world ("Hey! It's my job to insult you!" Evil twin says annoyed.), anyway, I'll talk less and write more.

Cya!

-sugarwhirl-


	5. Leaky Cauldron and Clarissa Ducoeur

Valerie felt herself being shaken and woke up and tried to scream, but no sound came out. She calmed down and found that Clarissa was still unconscious on her lap. Looking up, she saw Professor Dumbledore was standing and looking at them, smiling.

"We have arrived!" He said.

She lifted Clarissa up, but winced because her arm suddenly hurt and she remembered about the cut. She stood up, trying not to let the pain show, but Professor Dumbledore had already known that she was hurting and had pulled back her right sleeve. The healing wound had opened once more and was bleeding again, blood dripping onto the floor and also covering his hands. He took out a wooden stick and whispered something, and suddenly the wound was gone, but a scar could be seen. He looked at Valerie, who said,

"Was it you who said that you understood what I had been through?"

He nodded, his eyes were twinkling yet again.

"Then please understand why-"

He cut her off. "I understand, but please do not do this again. Where is the knife?" She remembered that the knife was still in her pocket. She took it out and gave it to him. "It's not my blood by the way, it's mostly Lucius' blood. Whoever he is."

Professor Dumbledore looked amused again and put the knife into his own pocket. He put his hat into his robe as well and carried Clarissa for Valerie, and they stepped off the train. They had arrived in Victoria and it was 6:30 am English time. They walked into the streets and he led her through the streets of London, yet again receiving a few stares as they walked through the streets. About fifteen minutes later, they arrived in front of an old pub.

"Are we going in there?" Valerie asked.

Professor Dumbledore only nodded and entered. The pub was quite empty and some of the customers whispered excitedly when they saw him come in. Valerie followed Dumbledore who walked up to the bartender and asked to stay in one room for two nights. The bartender led them up some stairs.

"Haven't seen you for a very long time, Professor. Been busy?" he asked.

"Yes Tom. I must hurry for this girl is in a very unsafe state." Professor Dumbledore said nodding at the unconscious Clarissa in his arms.

Valerie looked at him questioningly, but they had arrived in front of a wooden door, so he did not answer. Valerie was pushed inside and she spun around, finding that they had locked the door behind her. She jiggled the knob furiously and began to hit the door with her hands.

"Let me out! Professor! Please! Tell me what's wrong with Clarissa!" She shouted

. Suddenly the door opened and she lost her balance, falling into Tom, the bartender. She looked around, but there was no trace of Professor Dumbledore or Clarissa. She was furious with herself._ How could I have trusted- _

"Argh!" She walked into the room fuming.

"He will be back, Ms. Ducoeur. Clarissa has been put under some curse apparently. Please understand. He'll be back soon." Tom said, just before he shut the door and left.

She lay down on the bed, which was very comfortable and began to turn her thoughts back to the previous night, or early that morning. Before long she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. The dreams that she had were all the same; they all consisted of the half an hour leading up to the point when her parents collapsed and died for her and Clarissa's lives. What happened afterwards differed though.

Sometimes Professor Dumbledore did appear, but he either was killed as well or suddenly turned around and tried to kill her. There was one where Valerie had jumped and had managed to escape, but found that all the neighbouring houses around her were burning and that there was no one left to help. The last one was of Clarissa suddenly waking up and then strangling Valerie to death. That was when she woke to find that somehow she had gotten under the covers and the pillow was on her face, smothering her.

She got up and took a cold shower for at least half an hour, but just when she felt like she was about to faint from the cold, she heard a knock on the bathroom door. She turned off the shower thinking '_merde!'_, but she got out of the shower and put on the dressing gown again. When she opened the door she was knocked over onto the ground. _Ow! Knocking your head against the sink in the bathroom is definitely not a nice greeting. That's got to be Clarissa_. Clarissa smiled and kissed Valerie's cheeks. Then she laughed.

"Val! You haven't even done up your dressing gown properly! You're lucky it was me at the door. How come you're so cold? Weren't you having a shower?"

_Of course, Clarissa would obviously think that I'm like her and would never try to inflict pain on myself. Maybe I should change my name to 'Masochist'_. Valerie smiled and ruffled her sister's hair. Who immediately hit her back.

"Not fair! Now my hair's a complete mess! It's all your fault!" Clarissa then stalked out of the bathroom, pretending to be angry with her sister.

Valerie smiled and chased after her tickling her sides, and making her squeal. They laughed and attacked one another on the bed until they heard a chuckle. Valerie looked at the tall figure standing by the bed chuckling to himself. His eyes were twinkling now more than ever. She blushed but realised that she had subconsciously rewrapped her dressing gown around her before she came out of the bathroom.

"Ah! Youth! Such a great gift that one only treasures in fond memories." He said smiling at Valerie, who at that time had just been attacked by her darling sister again and was in fits of laughter.

"Stop! We have to-" She laughed again. "stop! Mercy!"

Finally Clarissa stopped tickling her and sat on the edge of the bed looking serious. Valerie stifled a laugh when she looked at Clarissa's futile attempts at trying to be grown up. Clarissa looked almost the same as her sister when she was awake. The smiles were the same, their noses were the same, and so on, but the most obvious differences were height and skin tone.

_Clarissa was still a child. A child that was lucky she had not witnessed the horrors that she had seen last night. A child that should be protected forever, but could not be. Clarissa is innocent, why did she have to see those things that she did last night? _Valerie thought to herself.

She realised that Professor Dumbledore must have been speaking as they were both waiting for her to answer a question. She blushed.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening."

Dumbledore repeated what he had just said a moment ago.

"First we will buy your things. Clarissa and I went to Gringotts and took some money out already. We've bought you some Muggle clothes." Valerie looked confused. "Muggles are non-magical people. We need to go soon, since your teacher will be arriving soon to teach you the basic things you will have to learn. Have you had lunch?"

Valerie nodded, even though she had not eaten. She did not have an appetite and she hoped that he didn't realise. Fortunately for her, he just smiled and continued.

"Well then, you must change."

Clarissa then placed the new clothes on top of her head and giggled as Valerie walked to the bathroom letting the clothes slide off her head and fall behind her in a heap on the floor. _I'd give anything to keep her happy. _

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I'm being way too nice. Two chapters in one night? I have written more, I promise, but until I get more reviews...

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase review!!

-sugarwhirl-


	6. Ollivander's

Valerie came out of the bathroom after she had changed into her new outfit. She was wearing a bright red t-shirt that said 'London' written in rainbow colours excluding red. She wore a very short white skirt and a pair of white sandals. Valerie was sure that her face was giving away the fact that she really did not want to wear the outfit, but she smiled, hoping that Clarissa did not notice.  
  
"Did you pick the clothes for me?" Valerie asked Clarissa.  
  
Clarissa immediately bounced to her sister and hugged her.  
  
"Of course I did, but we didn't have much time, so I grabbed some stuff I knew you'd like. I mean, you used to always wear miniskirts a lot before you met Ja-"  
  
Clarissa clapped her hand over her mouth and apologised. She then said that she needed to use the bathroom and escaped. Valerie's irises had turned blood red with anger, but they soon returned to their normal colour of green. Dumbledore noticed this and frowned.  
  
Valerie knew that her sister had seen her eyes change colour, because that's how her family and her best friends knew when to get away as quickly as possible before she took out her anger on them. The colour change only started happening after the first night of her shouting into the mirror. She sighed.  
  
"Clarissa! Let's go!" She shouted.  
  
The toilet flushed and Clarissa came out looking a bit frightened, but calmed down after her sister had put her hand on her shoulder. Valerie turned and looked at the Professor, who was still gazing out of the window, down into Diagon Alley.  
  
"Professor?"  
  
He turned and smiled at them. His eyes twinkled, but Valerie noticed that there was a hint of sorrow in them. He stood up, walked around the bed and they left the room together.  
  
When they had been through the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley, Valerie had to tickle Clarissa to get her to shut up about wanting to see the trick of getting the brick to wiggle again. Professor Dumbledore just kept silent and smiled.  
  
First they went into Ollivander's to get wands. When they stepped into the quiet shop, they all stood in silence as the gloom settled down upon them. _Wow! I'm impressed! Even Clarissa's managed to shut up_. But the atmosphere of the tiny place was like a library's. It felt like there was a need to be silent.

Valerie jumped to the ceiling when she heard a soft and raspy 'hello'. She had not seen Mr. Ollivander appear in the doorway which she had presumed led into the storage room. The old, pale man with pale blue eyes that seemed to glow stood behind the counter.  
  
"Albus! It's been a long time!" He smiled slightly  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I suppose this must be Ms. Clarissa and Valerie–"  
  
"Ducoeur." Valerie said quickly.  
  
Mr. Ollivander lifted his eyebrow and looked at Professor Dumbledore who nodded.  
  
"Very well. Who shall I be finding a wand for first?"  
  
Clarissa immediately squealed and looked eagerly at him. Mr. Olivander looked at her and nodded.  
  
"Very well. Come closer. Your wand arm is your right one I presume?"  
  
Clarissa looked slightly confused, but nodded as she glided past Valerie and stood in front of him. He took out a measuring tape and it immediately bounced out of his hand and started whizzing about, taking measurements. He walked at least twice around her and then stood in front of her leaning in closely. Valerie was about to step forward, but Dumbledore put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up and he shook his head_. I need to relax. Breathe Valerie, breathe._ She thought to herself.  
  
When she looked at Clarissa, who was giggling because the tape was measuring the size of her head, Mr. Ollivander had gone around back and was rummaging around. He returned, carrying a pile of boxes. His eyes sparkled with delight.  
  
"Try these ones. Just pick each one up and wave them about."  
  
Clarissa looked at the boxes, excited and she pulled out the first one.  
  
"Ebony, heartstring of dragon." Mr. Ollivander said.  
  
Clarissa flicked her wrist, but Mr. Ollivander grabbed it and shook his head. Clarissa picked up the next one and yet again, this one was snatched away. About five minutes later, Clarissa had managed to break a vase that had stood on the counter before. The wand was glowing, and Clarissa was giggling non-stop.  
  
"Ah! Holly and Unicorn hair! And it is perfect! Ms. Valerie, would you like to be measured?"  
  
Valerie knew she had no choice in the matter anyway. As she moved over towards him, she caught Clarissa's hand, stopping her from waving it again, just in case she brought down the roof. Clarissa pouted but then skipped over to Professor Dumbledore, who immediately began to teach her how to cast some basic spells. She stood still as the tape measurer flew around taking measurements and Mr. Ollivander circled Valerie and stared into her eyes as he did with Clarissa. He picked up her right hand and asked,  
  
"So you are right?" He said, picking up her right hand.  
  
Valerie bit back the urge of retorting, and said: "yes."  
  
He went to the back to collect a few boxes and Valerie turned around to see Clarissa trying to make a pin float in mid-air.  
  
"Wingardum-Levisa!" She said over and over again. Professor Dumbledore chuckled.  
  
"Clarissa, it is: Wingardium Leviosa!"  
  
As soon as he said this the pin floated, and being the child that she is, Clarissa squealed. Mr. Ollivander tapped Valerie and on the shoulder, making her jump.  
  
"Desolé- I mean, sorry." She said quickly.  
  
"Take the wands carefully out of their boxes and wave them." He stressed on the 'carefully' as if he felt Valerie would snap each of them in two as soon as Valerie had taken them out of their boxes.  
  
Valerie opened the boxes, waved the wands, but he never seemed satisfied and she was beginning to despair after the millionth time he appeared from the back. Then he held out one box.  
  
"This is the only last possible one."  
  
As soon as Valerie had taken it out of the box, she noticed that it was warm and the warmth travelled through her fingers and up her arm, making her feel strange. She then waved it and suddenly a wand came soaring through the air and landed in her hand. It too felt warm to touch and she was about to wave it again when it was snatched away. Mr. Ollivander raised his eyebrow.  
  
"That is strange."  
  
But he did not bother to explain.  
  
"You have Holly and Phoenix tail feather. The wand chooses its master, not the other way round. Remember that."  
  
Clarissa paid the man for the wands and as they walked out, she tried to explain to Valerie what the currency was, but in the most complicated manner that anyone could have ever thought of. Mr. Ollivander watched as they went out and looked at the wand that he had snatched out of the hand of a very confused Valerie.  
  
"Strange." He whispered again, to himself.


	7. An Encounter with Malfoy

They walked to Madam Malkin's 'Robes for All Occasions' next. About half an hour later they came out of the shop with Clarissa singing at the top of her voice 'I've got new clothes!'. _I hope she doesn't plan on wearing them outside of school, that would be a little embarrassing for her_. Valerie thought.  
  
They walked over to Flourish and Botts, which was the bookstore. Valerie, loving books and studying, although many would not have believed you if you said this, because Valerie was often found asleep when asked to do work, which might be why she loved studying. She always came out with very good grades, which made some of the more hardworking students a bit annoyed.  
  
As she walked in between the shelves of books, she bumped into a girl with long, bushy brown hair. She was slightly shorter than Valerie and was quite pale. Her eyes were warm and amber coloured. The bump had caused all of the girl's books to fall onto the floor and so she bent down to pick them up. Valerie saw this and bent down to help her.  
  
"Je suis très desol- " Valerie realised that she was speaking French again when she received a very strange look from the girl. "I mean, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."  
  
When they had picked up all the books, the girl looked up and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry about it. My name's Hermione Granger."  
  
"I'm Valerie Ducoeur."  
  
"I take it that you're from France, seeing that you spoke to me in French rather than English." They laughed.  
  
"Which school do you go to?"  
  
"I am going to join Hogwarts. I'm a transfer student from Beauxbatons."

Hermione looked surprised and pleased.  
  
"I go to Hogwarts. Come find me if you need any help any time you want."  
  
"Thank you." Valerie said.  
  
A shadow loomed over them and Hermione smiled.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione gasped. "I didn't expect to see you here."  
  
"I have come with Valerie and her sister Clarissa. You have met Valerie I suppose?" He asked, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses. Hermione nodded. "Congradulations on becoming Head Girl, Miss Granger. Are your parents pleased?"  
  
Hermione looked a bit unhappy for a second but she blushed and answered "Thank you Professor. They were somewhat pleased."  
  
He peered into her eyes and Hermione dropped her books. Valerie immediately stooped down to help pick them up again. Hermione lowered her eyes to avoid eye contact with the headmaster and bent down again to pick up her books.

Professor Dumbledore smiled and said: "Wingardium Leviosa."  
  
The books floated back into Hermione's arms and she said "thank you."  
  
"Hermione, why don't you and Valerie have a chat whilst Clarissa and I go and get the rest of the things that they both need and we'll find you afterwards." Professor Dumbledore suggested.  
  
Valerie was surprised, but saw that Hermione nodded so she followed suit. When they had left the shop, Hermione and Valerie heard a low, drawling voice from behind.  
  
"Well if it isn't the mudblood herself."  
  
Hermione turned around, face reddening. Her eyes were narrowed as she glared at the boy behind them.  
  
"Malfoy. What do you want?"  
  
"Now that you say that, I do have a few things that I do want."  
  
Valerie had just turned around and saw the blonde, silver eyed boy eyeing her. When she saw his face she edged backwards. Her eyes were open in complete fear. He noticed this and smirked.  
  
"What's wrong with your friend, Mudblood? Is she even your friend? I never knew mudbloods could have friends. Oh, but of course! You have Weasel and Harry Potty! I completely forgot."  
  
Hermione took a step forward, ready to hit him, buts he could not because Valerie had grabbed Hermione's hand. _This cannot be happening! Lucius here! He seems less tall and his hair is shorter... Does he even recognise me? Help!_ Hermione looked at Val who was now shaking and kept on backing away.  
  
When the boy moved forwards, she froze, unable to move. He walked closer again until he was looming above her, just as Lucius was the night before. Scenes of what happened flashed in front of Valerie's eyes, and she let go of Hermione and clutched her own wrist. She remembered the flash of green that had killed her parents.

The boy used his finger and thumb to hold onto Valerie's chin, and turned it to the side, just as his father had done the night before. Hermione was so shocked that Valerie would not react that she had become speechless. Valerie closed her eyes, but the tears fell, just as they had fallen in the train.  
  
"Don't cry. I won't hurt you... You are very pretty, aren't you" The boy said.  
  
That was when she cracked. She sobbed uncontrollably and slapped his hand off her face before running out of the shop, leaving Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, stunned together. Hermione slapped Draco across the face and yelled at him. They got into a heated argument that no one dared to interrupt. And so they continued bickering until Professor Dumbledore and Clarissa returned.  
  
"But where has Valerie gone?" the headmaster asked Hermione.

* * *

Heya readers! Does anyone feel like reviewing today? Yes?

I hope so, I feel a bit unloved. I haven't received any reviews since the second chapter. sniff. I hope that there is _somebody_ out there reading this, I hate to think I am writing to myself.

Anyway, my evil twin decided to leave town and so it's all peaceful now.... for the time being anyway.... Review Please.

sugarwhirl


	8. Harry Potter and Knockturn Alley

"I'm-I'm so s-sorry Professor. I was so surprised by her reaction and then I thought Malfoy was to blame, and-" She stopped when she saw his expression.

"I will trust you with Clarissa, I do not wish to see you two fighting again, so I suggest that you apologise to one another while I search for Valerie." Professor Dumbledore said.

Hermione was near to tears, but nodded. Draco glared at Hermione. Not long after the headmaster had left, they began to argue again.

"Mudblood!"

"Pure-blooded Brat!"

"I'm leaving, you're contaminating the air."

"_I_ thought that it was the other way round." Hermione glared at Malfoy.

* * *

Valerie had run out of the shop and ran up to the top of the alley when she crashed into two people, making them both topple over backwards. One got up and helped his friend to his feet, who in turn also helped Valerie get up. Her tears were still flowing from her eyes.

"Merlin's Beard! What did I do? Did I hurt you?" The red-headed boy asked.

"No! I'm so sorry! It hasn't got anything to do with you! I've got to go!" Valerie replied as she ran.

"Wait!" The black haired boy had caught her arm. "Are you sure you're alright? You've got a few scratches on your arm."

"They're nothing! Just! Let go!" Valerie yelled. Her thoughts floated back to home, to her boyfriend; her ex-boyfriend rather.

"What's your name?" The black-haired boy asked.

_What's it to you? You're all the same! Leave me alone! _Valerie wanted to scream. She struggled, but his grip was too strong.

"Valerie Ducoeur! Happy? Now let me go! Please?"

The black-haired friend let go, shocked by the sudden change of colour in her eyes. This gave Valerie the chance to run. She ran and ran and turned a corner, passing the sign saying 'Knockturn Alley."

"Did you see her eyes?" Harry asked Ron.

Ron nodded. They turned to the opposite direction to where the girl was running to.

"She looks like she's in a hurry." Ron remarked.

Harry shugged. "It sounded like she was running away from someone."

Harry suddenly stopped and turned around. His green eyes displayed his concern before he said it, and Ron understood.

"She's gone into Knockturn Alley."

They raced up to the opening of Knockturn Alley and saw that it was empty. Ron shuddered from the gloom and the sense of evil. He said something in a very high squeak that did not sound unlike to Clarissa's high pitched voice.

"Let's not go in there Harry."

Harry turned and faced him.

"We have no choice."

"Why don't I go back and get Hermione?" Ron said, inching away.

"No! We have to go now! God knows what those weirdos are doing to her right now!"

"Harry! Ron! You have not seen a young girl run by have you?" They turned around and saw Professor Dumbledore.

"Professor!" They said together. "This girl, Valerie something-or-other ran up here and she went down Knockturn Alley!"

Dumbledore looked crestfallen. "Not here. Valerie." He whispered.

* * *

Valerie stopped running when she felt the stares of the people. She felt it. The evil. It hung in the air and felt heavier than the gloom did in Ollivader's. It was suffocating. The silence weighed down on her shoulders and a man with long oily black hair came up to her and cackled. He was pale and thin and his eyes darted across her face madly. His breath smelt of alcohol and reeked as though he had not brushed his teeth in days. He had a few missing teeth showing as he smiled and his yellow mottling one made Valerie feeling like hurling.

"Lost dearie? Come with me. I'll give you a place to stay the night." He smacked her bottom.

"Go away!" She backed away.

"Why the tears?" he persisted until she had backed into a wall.

He traced a greasy finger across her cheek. She turned away from him, the alcohol was too strong. He moved closer and she whimpered. He put his hands on her slim waist and smiled evilly. Valerie closed her eyes and prepared herself to scream, but she was interrupted.

"She has come to find me. Now leave!" Barked a voice that sounded very familiar.

The man turned around and stammered something inaudible. Valerie felt the man go away. Another shadow stood in front of her. She opened her eyes again. This time she did try to scream but his hand covered her mouth.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"He smirked.

Valerie scratched at his hand and tried to bite him. He looked rather amused and watched her for a few seconds. His long blonde hair fell forwards slightly and swept against Valerie's cheek.

"What a surprise Ms. Hendrick! I was not expecting a visit so soon." Lucius whispered into her ear.

Valerie's eyes were wide in fear, they darted around pleading for help, but the people who had been there had disappeared.

"It's no use. No one crosses me in Knockturn Alley. So this time, you will not escape." Lucius smirked.

He reached out and grabbed both her hands, twisting them behind her back. She tried in vain to escape, and he laughed. He turned her around and forced her forwards, walking towards a shop that was at the corner.  
  
"You are wearing quite a short skirt today Ms. Hendrick. It attracts a lot of attention, very unwanted attention." He said bending to whisper into her ear.

She felt his hot breath on her neck and it made her hairs stand on end. She struggled even harder against his hold, but soon gave up, knowing that it was useless.

_Oh god! What have I done this time? I don't remember coming down Knockturn Alley. I thought I was on Diagon Alley. Why did I not stop to talk to those two boys just now? Why?_

"Here we are. I'm sure you'll be delighted to meet my son. Here he comes now."

They stopped outside the shop and Valerie saw the boy from the bookshop turn the corner, with company. Lucius suddenly let go of Valerie as soon as he caught sight of Dumbledore, but put his hand on her shoulder He sneered as his son who his own look of disgust as he led his headmaster towards them. Lucius bent down and spoke into Valerie's ear.

"You are very lucky indeed. If you speak of our little meeting to anyone, I will be glad to tell my son to perform an unforgivable on you. Oh, before I forget, I would ask you to forget yesterday evening's reunion either. Remember that, Ms. Hendrick."

He stood up tall, just as Dumbledore arrived. He smiled at him and pushed her forward.

"Well Albus, I found this girl being harassed by one of the men. I had come just in time to stop any... improper activity. Is she under your care? Well, I'll gladly return her to you. Come Draco!"

Lucius pushed Valerie harder, and she tumbled into Professor Dumbledore's arms. As Draco walked past, she grabbed his wrist, making the three men around her surprised.

"I apologise for my reaction in the bookshop."

After saying this she let go of his hand and turned leaving the father and son staring at her. Dumbledore looked at the silent Valerie and knew that she had begun to form a shell. A shell that would never be able to be cracked open if it is complete, it would shut out the people around her, so that she would never be hurt by anyone. She had started building walls in her mind, preventing him from seeing and she was also burying her memories. It was a permanent form of Occlumency, and would be very difficult to undo.

"All walls crumble in the end." He said finally.

Valerie shot him a look that asked him to explain, but he did not. When they reached the opening of the alley and found the two young men, waiting anxiously under Dumbledore's orders not to move. When they saw the headmaster and Valere appear, the black-haired young man smiled with relief and walked over. The red-headed young man who had been day-dreaming and suddenly snapped out of his reverie, smiling sheepishly with a lopsided smile.

"Valerie. This is Harry Potter." Valerie shook his hand noticing that he had sparkling green eyes. "and this is Ronald Weasley." She shook his hand as well.

She looked a bit confused. Did that Malfoy call Hermione's friends Harry Potty and Weasel? They sound unbelievably like Harry and Ron's names. I need to think. I need space.

"Sorry about just now. Before I ran into you, I was with Hermione and this guy came and called her 'mudblood'" Harry and Ron flinched. "Sorry, did I offend you?" Valerie asked.

"Valerie has lost her memory over the holidays, so you must help her." Professor Dumbledore said quickly, nudging Hermione.

"Valerie, you should never call anyone a mudblood." Harry told her.

"Why not?" Valerie asked, trying not to seem stupid.

"Just think of it as a horrible insult. It's a name for wizards or witches whose parents are muggles. Only pureblooded families call other people these names." Harry explained.

"Oh. This guy also said that Hermione didn't have any friends except Weasel and Harry Potty. What does that mean?" Val asked, noticing that Ron had gone a bit red.

Harry and Ron looked at one another and knew that the girl must have serious problems to not see the connection between the insulting 'nicknames' and their real names. Harry sighed.

"He meant us. Draco Malfoy has this thing against Ron and I. He doesn't like Ron even though he comes from a pure wizarding family, because Ron's father works very closely with muggles."

"He doesn't like Harry, because he's the-Boy-Who-Lived." Ron said.

Valerie looked puzzled. Ron gaped at her expression and pointed at Harry's forehead.

"You know- Harry Potter? The one who made You-Know-Who vanish twenty something years ago?"

Valerie looked even more confused. What are they going on about? Harry decided to speak.

"Let me explain. I'm not trying to be proud or anything, but when I was a baby, Voldemort tried to kill me, but instead I survived with only a scar, but he had been reduced to nearly nothing. Every year since I have been at Hogwarts, he has attempted to get a body of his own again, and about a year and a half ago, he succeeded."

Valerie's eye colour must have changed again because both Harry and Ron stepped back. She remembered the flash of green. Dumbledore watched this conversation with concern.

"Voldemort has not vanished." She stated quietly, but loud enough for them to hear.

"Yes." replied Harry uneasily.

"You have met him many times before?"

"Well, a few. But luck helped me escape death." He flinched from a jab in the ribs from Ron "and also a lot of help from my friends."

"So you had friends to help you." Valerie's voice was growing more and more quiet.

'The walls are gaining strength.' Thought Dumbledore sadly.

_Why wasn't there anybody to help me? Thank God I had Professor Dumbledore. Why did I have no friends who could help? Why? Why did my parents have to die?  
_  
"Where is your family now?" She asked Harry. He hesitated before answering.

"My parents are dead. Voldemort killed them and I don't have any siblings."

"Oh"

_So we have one or two similarites..._

Hermione and Clarissa ran up to join them.

"Valerie, we must leave now."Dumbledore said.

Harry and Ron looked at one another and shrugged, not understanding the strange girl standing before them.


	9. Dreams and Revelations

Valerie followed Professor Dumbledore and Clarissa and pretended to listen to their conversation. She nodded from time to time as if in agreement with whatever Clarissa was talking about. Professor Dumbledore had decided that a nice walk in a nearby park would be refreshing, so they had taken the Underground to visit Hyde Park.

They had spent the afternoon walking around the park. They went to the children's playground and Clarissa decided that she wanted to play there, so Dumbledore and Valerie sat down on some grass and watched her play with some of the other children who were playing as well. Afterwards they went to look at the Holocaust memorial, the Cavalry memorial and they went to look at the Lake, which is called the Serpentine. They also went to see the statue of Achilles.

They were now walking back towards the Marble Arch and Clarissa was licking her ice-cream, completely oblivious to the fact Valerie had not said more that a word since they had lunch in one of the cafes in the park. When they reached the Marble Arch, Dumbledore decided to take them back to the Leaky Cauldron. He had noticed Valerie's silence and was worried even though he pretended to be ignorant.

When they got back, it was already seven in the evening and the sky was almost dark. The day was 10th August. _My birthday is sixteen days away. I won't have Amandine and Brigitte to celebrate it with me..._They were eating dinner in silence, when Clarissa had finally noticed that her sister was not on the same planet. When they had finished, Clarissa finally plucked up the courage to say something to Valerie.

"Valerie? Que-ce qu'il y a?"

Valerie was still thinking about everything that had happened in the holiday, and realised that Clarissa had been speaking. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and smiled sheepishly at the stares Dumbledore and Clarissa were giving her.

"Hmm?" She asked, slowly returning back to earth.

"I asked what's wrong."

"Nothing." Valerie replied quickly, and smiled.

She noticed that Dumbledore was frowning at her and she struggled to keep her fake smile on her face.

"I was wondering where the money is coming from." Valerie looked at Dumbledore expectantly.

"Your parents gave me the key to their vault in Gringotts. I went there with Clarissa this morning. Is there something else bothering you?" he asked.

"Yes. I was going to ask whether I could have my own room. I'd like some personal space and I don't want to disturb anyone." Valerie said.

Dumbledore thought for a moment. He knew that her reason for wanting her own room was a bit more worrying than the ones that she just gave him. He knew of what she did at night, because he had seen the scars on her arms and he did not want to leave her on her own. However he knew that he had to let her have her own privacy so he reluctantly agreed.

"You may, but I must have a key to your room and I will come in from time to time to check up on you."

Valerie smiled and this time it was a true smile, even though it was not a smile of happiness, but relief. She agreed to him having a second key, although she knew that the real reason that he wanted to have a second set was just in case she decided to do anything to herself. _He doesn't trust me... but then again, I wouldn't trust myself either..._

"This is also a good arrangement so that Clarissa will not disturb your lessons and she can go to bed as early as she wants. It is eight thirty. We must go Valerie, your teacher will be arriving soon. Go up to your room while I make arrangement for Clarissa to have her own room."

Valerie nodded. _He has other things to do as well. I can't expect him to always be there to protect me from my own bad luck. _She took out her key and went upstairs to her room. She unlocked the door, went in, turned on the light and then locked it again.

To her right was the door leading to the bathroom, straight ahead is the door leading into the bedroom. She had kept the door open by putting the hook attached to the wooden door through the hoop attached to the wall on the left. In the bedroom, the wardrobe and desk were to the left against the wall and to her right was the double bed. The headboard was against the wall. The bed was completely white. The pillow covers, the duvet cover and the bed sheet was white. On wall opposite to the door, there were windows where you could look out into Diagon Alley.

She noticed the state of her room and sighed. She liked having a neat room, because she hated cleaning up a messy one. _That's something I have to get used to doing I suppose._ She sighed and grumbled as she made the bed, put the chair back where it belonged. She went to the bathroom and cleaned up all the water. She cleared away her toilettries and then went back to the desk and sat down.

She looked at her watch. _It's eight forty-five. Where are they? _Suddenly there was a knock on the door, making her jump. She opened the door letting Dumbledore and Clarissa enter, before closing and locking it again.

"I have got a room for Clarissa, but unfortunately the rooms on this floor are already booked up, so she will be upstairs. Room 44. Clarissa seems very eager to have that room." Dumbledore said

"It's my birthday! The fourth of April is my birthday! So of course I want that room." Clarissa said.

_It's also the number that signifies death in China..._ Valerie thought to herself, She shook her head free of these morbid thoughts and paid attention to what the other occupants of the room were saying.

"Do you like reading Clarissa?" Dumbledore asked.

"I love reading! Can we go and get some books tomorrow?" She asked.

_She's getting very hyper. Oh dear. She won't be able to sleep tonight and if we get her books tomorrow, she won't sleep tomorrow night either. Perhaps she won't for the rest of the week. _Valerie snorted quietly.

"Valerie, I think your professor is arriving soon. He knows which room you are in, so he will be knocking on your door. I will bring down the things that you will need in a few minutes. For now, I'll just make sure your sister settles in." Dumbledore said as he led Clarissa to the door.

They left and Valerie decided to leave the door open so that her professor can come in without her having to get up again. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. _Just for a second, I promise. _

A second later, Valerie was in dreamland.

* * *

It was the 11th of July, Jason's birthday. Valerie had gone over to his house to say Happy Birthday. He was her boyfriend, and he was turning eighteen today. She knocked and went in through the front door, which was open. When she stepped into the house, she noticed that it was quiet. He had told her that he was planning to have a birthday that evening, and was going to be spending the afternoon at home preparing. Valerie glanced at her watch. It was four o'clock.

"Jason?" Valerie called.

Suddenly she felt arms around her waist and she giggled. She turned and saw Jason looking at her. She blushed and said, "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." He continued staring at her before saying, "I think that you're so beautiful." He kissed her.

She broke off and turned. Jason was red in the face, even though it was not very hot. She looked at him.

"You've been drinking. I thought that you were going to have a party? How come nothing's been done yet? Do you need a hand?" She asked.

She was starting to feel uncomfortable at the way he was looking at her.

"Party? When did I say I was going to have a party?" he asked.

His voice was slurred and his hands were wandering. Valerie grabbed his hands.

"Stop it Jason! What's wrong with you? You told me to come over to see you in the afternoon for my opinion. What did you drink?" she asked, her voice shaking with concern and anger.

Then Jason raised his right hand and slapped her. He had slapped her really hard and she was flung onto the cold, stone floor. She tried to get up, but she had hurt her ankle. Her eyes were threatening to cry and all she could think was: _Why?_

"Why did you do that? It hurts Jason. Please can you help me up? I know you're not thinking right so I'm going to go and come back in about an hour when you should be feeling better." She tried not to show her fear. She knew that if she left, she definitely would not be returning.

"You aren't going anywhere until I'm done with you." He said, anger passing through his eyes.

Valerie was confused. _What's happened to the kind boyfriend that I had? What's happened to the guy who told me he hated hurting women?_

"What are you doing?" Valerie said.

He heard the fear in her voice as he carried her upstairs. There were only bedrooms upstairs. He walked into his large room and dropped her onto the bed. She hissed in pain as her head struck the board, making her numb for a few seconds. In those few seconds, Jason had cuffed her wrists to the poles either side of his bed and climbed on top of her.

Valerie's eyes widened when she realised what he was doing. She struggled and kicked him. He punched her stomach, making her gasp as the wind was knocked out of her, and he got up and took some rope out of his cupboard and tied her ankles to the bars at the end of the bed. He tied the rope especially tightly around her sore ankle and she yelped in pain.

"That's for struggling. Don't try to struggle because no one is around. They're all at my real party being held at Philippe's house. I'm glad I managed to fool you into coming here. You have so few friends, you didn't even know that I had actually arranged for there to be a lunch time party at my best friend's house. You're actually not as intelligent as everyone makes you out to be. Now if you resist, I may have to make this hurt and that is when you will really scream." Jason said.

Valerie wasn't listening to the last bit. She was trying to think of a way to escape, but he crushed his lips against hers, kissing her and she bit down hard on his lip. He cursed as blood started to come out of the cut. He then laughed and took out a knife and looked at her.

"I'll have to make it hurt now. I will be more than happy to hear you scream."

Having said that he sliced off her clothes. The knife dug deep and cut through her skin and blood started to come out. _Please let this be a dream. Let me wake up!_

Valerie screamed and woke sweating. She sobbed and the tears ran down her face as she curled up into a ball. He whole body ached like it did the day after that happened. After a few minutes, she stopped her tears. She then looked at her watch. She had slept for half an hour; it was now twenty past nine. She looked at her desk and saw seven piles of books, her wand and a bag. On the floor by the desk was the bag with her school robes in.

She got up and walked over to the desk and saw a note.

_Valerie,_

_I saw that you were asleep and decided against disturbing you. I have put a nightgown into the bag with your robes. Clarissa had forgotten to give it to you this morning. Your professor has been delayed, he will arrive at 9:30, you can begin reading through the first year's books if you are awake. Put the other books away as you will not be working on them tonight. The bag on your table contains any materials you may need: Quills, parchment, ink, and some muggle stationary. Do not forget to brush your hair._

_Albus Dumbledore_

Valerie went into the bathroom and saw that her hair was in such a state that she looked like she had been electrocuted. She brushed her hair using the brush that Professor Dumbledore had left on her desk for her. When she looked at her watch, she saw that it was almost half past, so she put away her robes and her nightgown, which was actually a very short, pink nightdress. She was putting away her books when she heard a large pop outside her door and a knock.

"Come in! The door's open." She yelled.

She knew it was impolite not to open the door for the professor, but her hair had gotten stuck in the hinge of the wardrobe when she had been putting the books away into the drawers under it. The door opened slowly and Valerie struggled to free herself. She finally yanked her hair out and stood up.

"I'm sorry I was a bit stuck so I couldn't–" Valerie screamed.

* * *

Review, s'il vous plait and s'il ne vous plait pas. If it's bad, just tell us. Please Review.

We do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in the Harry Potter series. (Pity.) This goes for the rest of the fanfic.


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